The Solution for Seagate 7200.11 HDDs

[MRA]

Hello! I've been reading the posts in this topic for quite some time now, which I had only printed the very first page of, not realizing there were now 130 pages! I tried to order parts exactly as they were shown on page 1, but some of the links were outdated, so I just got an RS232 Shifter from SparkFun and the jumpers and headers. I didn't like the thought of cutting cables and crimping them together, so I bought a Manhattan USB to Serial Converter (DB9M (RS232)) from a local computer store where no one had heard of this Seagate issue! In all fairness, no one at Best Buy in the computer department heard of it either, despite there being thousands of people with this same problem. I also bought a soldering kit from Radio Shack, a CR2032 battery, and a battery holder for that size battery.

Last night, I soldered four wires onto the RS232 Shifter and have a set up that looks EXACTLY like what is pictured on the first page's picture. I was all excited about finally trying this out tonight, but I was confused by the part about powering down when using the CR2032 battery. I thought the battery was powering the hard drive somehow, but now I think it's powering the shifter. So my question is, after reading a bunch of pages and getting more and more confused by everyone cutting up cables and not using the battery method, I don't see anything powering the hard drive in the picture on the first page. Are you all somehow doing all of the unscrewing and screwing of the PCB while the hard drive is inside of the drive, or are you using an alternate method of powering the drive, since the power cable I'd normally use for the drive is too short?

It's a bit overwhelming to search through 130 pages to find the answer when I end up with even more questions by the seventh page. Also, in the part about ,,,, vs. ,0,0,0, can I assume they are the same thing? The original instructions say ,,,, but then everyone else is talking about ,0,0,0,.

Thank you kindly!

MRA

Edited October 26, 2009 by MRA

[Twittwilly]

Hello! I've been reading the posts in this topic for quite some time now, which I had only printed the very first page of, not realizing there were now 130 pages! I tried to order parts exactly as they were shown on page 1, but some of the links were outdated, so I just got an RS232 Shifter from SparkFun and the jumpers and headers. I didn't like the thought of cutting cables and crimping them together, so I bought a Manhattan USB to Serial Converter (DB9M (RS232)) from a local computer store where no one had heard of this Seagate issue! In all fairness, no one at Best Buy in the computer department heard of it either, despite there being thousands of people with this same problem. I also bought a soldering kit from Radio Shack, a CR2032 battery, and a battery holder for that size battery.

Last night, I soldered four wires onto the RS232 Shifter and have a set up that looks EXACTLY like what is pictured on the first page's picture. I was all excited about finally trying this out tonight, but I was confused by the part about powering down when using the CR2032 battery. I thought the battery was powering the hard drive somehow, but now I think it's powering the shifter. So my question is, after reading a bunch of pages and getting more and more confused by everyone cutting up cables and not using the battery method, I don't see anything powering the hard drive in the picture on the first page. Are you all somehow doing all of the unscrewing and screwing of the PCB while the hard drive is inside of the drive, or are you using an alternate method of powering the drive, since the power cable I'd normally use for the drive is too short?

It's a bit overwhelming to search through 130 pages to find the answer when I end up with even more questions by the seventh page. Also, in the part about ,,,, vs. ,0,0,0, can I assume they are the same thing? The original instructions say ,,,, but then everyone else is talking about ,0,0,0,.

Thank you kindly!

MRA

Well, one of the problems you are fighting with your efforts is that you are not truly paying attention. If you look within the header of any page of this "sticky" section, on the left hand side, you will see a little white box displaying the total number of pages contained herein [Note: The total number of pages related to this thread is 105, not 130]. To the right of the number, you will see a drop down arrow, click on it, enter a number and you can navigate to any page you choose within the section. Keep in mind that the first page contains the oldest posts to the thread. Page 105 contains the most recent posts.

Unfortunately, Graduis' first language is not English and some oversights and errors were involved in his post on page 01...which were corrected and cleared up on later pages. Read on my boy and learn!!!! I've read through this entire thread several times to glean the information I needed to obtain the success that I achieved with my Seagate during a three and a half week attempt at this effort. I'm no expert, but a little research and understanding of what you are reading goes a long way toward a successful conclusion to your Seagate repair. If you are not willing to read some of the extremely helpful information contained in this thread, I suggest you call Seagate, get a return authorization code and send it back to them for repair and data recovery (which will cost you between $500-$3000, depending upon the difficulty involved in the recovery process). The issues which you bring up have been repeatedly covered within this thread on later pages.

Why you would assume that you could receive ANY accurate information from employees of either Radio Shack or Best Buy is beyond me. You are not dealing with computer experts at either location. They are oft-times completely unfamiliar with the products they sell, much less highly technical issues surrounding firmware programming errors.

Not knowing whether you have a SATA or PATA drive, go to your local computer repair shop and buy a hard drive enclosure ($35-$40) that is compatible with your drive, which is powered with a supplied AC adapter (a USB cable is also supplied in the package, but you won't need to make a USB connection to the computer....you only want to power the drive itself). They also sell enclosures which will work with both SATA and PATA. Place the drive into the enclosure tray, plug in the connection from the AC adapter and connect the power cable to the Seagate drive...you dont' have to connect the data cable. Do not replace the cover on the enclosure or slide it back into the case (if that's how it's built).

Leave it open and accessible for the wiring connections to the drive RX,TX and GND pins on the drive, as well the procedures involved with the firmware circuit board. The enclosure allows you to switch off the Seagate (when prompted to do so) with a toggle switch rather than pulling out and re-inserting the drive's power cable (which may possibly disrupt your connection to the RX, TX, GND pins on the back of the drive in the process).

Go to the following link and read EVERYTHING on the page contained therein before you try anything. Make sure you UNDERSTAND it. PRINT IT so you can have it handy as you go along with the repair. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER. (NOTE: Since you've already put together your battery pack for the array you've set up, just skip the part covering the powering of the RS232.)

http://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/

Edited October 26, 2009 by Twittwilly

[jaclaz]

Go to the following link and read EVERYTHING on the page contained therein before you try anything. Make sure you UNDERSTAND it. PRINT IT so you can have it handy as you go along with the repair. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER. (NOTE: Since you've already put together your battery pack for the array you've set up, just skip the part covering the powering of the RS232.)

http://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/

Also, peruse this:

http://www.msfn.org/board/debricking-seaga...es-t133387.html

http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html

jaclaz

[MRA]

Alright, sorry... 105 pages vs. 130 pages, I couldn't see the number of pages when I was in the middle of typing my post and was trying to go by memory. Thank you for your reply, Twittwilly. I can understand you getting frustrated by having to reply to the same questions over and over, but 105 pages is still a ton of stuff to read to find the nuggets of wisdom that could easily have been added or modified in the original post as new information was learned. I've looked over all of the webpages that you and jaclaz suggested over the last few weeks, but I was confused because of the differences in order of commands typed into Hyperterminal and lack of information containing a CR2032 battery.

I ended up going to a local computer store and bought a CoolMax All-in-One Multifunctional Converter that has exactly what you suggested, with an AC power cord and power supply for SATA and IDE with an on/off switch. That makes so much more sense to me now.

Now that I have all of the parts needed, I will check the other websites to ensure that I have the full picture before I begin this procedure.

Thank you!

MRA

[MRA]

Merde! The power supply connects to the hard drive just fine, but the all-in-one block covers up the RX and TX pins on the drive, so I can't use it. I guess I'm going to have to order the power supply online and wait for it.

At http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html, #7 and #8 cause me to rethink doing this. He is also covering up the motor contacts instead of the head contacts as is shown at http://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/.

I'm going to go with the hard drive enclosure idea tomorrow and see if I can get that at my local PC store. If I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB ST35000320AS, is that a 3.5" or 2.5" SATA? I'm pretty sure it's 3.5", but I've never heard of a 2.5" before.

Regarding the CR2032 battery thing, I'm starting to fear using that now because they say that the voltage needs to be the same as what is powering the hard drive and that you need to connect the RS232 shifter's ground to the hard drive ground. But the ground and VCC holes on the shifter are already taken up by the battery loop and are soldered in. Would I have to solder onto the ground on the shifter a second time to get it to the hard drive ground? Good lord...

Thanks!

MRA

Edited October 27, 2009 by MRA

[Twittwilly]

Merde! The power supply connects to the hard drive just fine, but the all-in-one block covers up the RX and TX pins on the drive, so I can't use it. I guess I'm going to have to order the power supply online and wait for it.

At http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html, #7 and #8 cause me to rethink doing this. He is also covering up the motor contacts instead of the head contacts as is shown at http://sites.google.com/site/seagatefix/.

I'm going to go with the hard drive enclosure idea tomorrow and see if I can get that at my local PC store.

Regarding the CR2032 battery thing, I'm starting to fear using that now because they say that the voltage needs to be the same as what is powering the hard drive and that you need to connect the RS232 shifter's ground to the hard drive ground. But the ground and VCC holes on the shifter are already taken up by the battery loop and are soldered in. Would I have to solder onto the ground on the shifter a second time to get it to the hard drive ground? Good lord...

Thanks!

MRA

Good God man! I am almost as overwhelmed as you are with the Maple Leaf Mountain instructions. Fortunately for me, my computer (which was custom built by a tech who works at the computer shop I deal with) was not provided with a serial port. Even if it had been, I don't think I would have opted for that particular method, since my soldering skills leave much to be desired. So, I was limited to the CA-42 cable option.

Yes, you must have those pins unobstructed to work with them. That issue is solved by the external hard drive enclosure. But, perhaps longer wiring segments from the all-in-one board (aka breadboard) to the Seagate would have solved that problem too. As you see in the pictures that are provided on the site, there is plenty of room available between the drive and the breadboard to make connections to the pins on his Seagate on his setup.

People providing information to this "sticky" thread have reported successful recovery using cardstock to cover EITHER the motor contacts or the head contacts on their Seagates. I would imagine that the choice depends on the particular Seagate model you are trying to recover. The vast majority of success stories (and which is most widely accepted currently) involve the head contact method. Either way, you don't need a hulking piece of paperstock to accomplish this task. The thicker the paper is, the more likely the chance becomes that you may warp the circuit board. If you are using a business card piece of paperstock, DON'T fold it in half. It is totally unnecessary.

I think you would probably want to email Maple Leaf, using the link provided on their site, to present the issues you are facing so that you get the answers directly from the source. The site was last updated on 19 September, so one can only assume that the info provided for this method is correct as of that date. The contributor may have been facing issues which are not necessarily the same as you experience, so direct contact with him would be the best way to go in order to adapt this particular process to your specific needs.

By the way, it would help if you provided some basics on the Seagate you are trying to recover...like is it a Barracuda 7200.11? What size is it (500GB, 1T, 750GB)?

HELPFUL HINT: When providing a link on your posts, DON'T use the INSERT LINK button on the menu bar of the message window. Rather, go up to the address bar on the main Windows page, copy the address of the page you are on and wish to link to, then paste it within your message. It automatically converts to a workable link within your message.

[jaclaz]

Regarding the CR2032 battery thing, I'm starting to fear using that now because they say that the voltage needs to be the same as what is powering the hard drive and that you need to connect the RS232 shifter's ground to the hard drive ground. But the ground and VCC holes on the shifter are already taken up by the battery loop and are soldered in. Would I have to solder onto the ground on the shifter a second time to get it to the hard drive ground? Good lord...

Why are people making it more difficult than it really is?

You have a circuit (the RS-232 to TTL converter or the USB to TTL converter).

This circuit needs to be powered in order to work.

You need to supply the appropriate needed power (Voltage) the circuit requires.

This can be depending on the actual circuit you are using, 3,3 V (3 V will do) or 5 V.

The hard disk NEEDS 5 V and from a reliable source (read PC Power supply or similar - like those Power supplyes that come with external USB boxes)

It DOES not matter WHERE FROM the proper voltage for the circuit comes, it can be from a PC power supply, from a battery, from a second AC/DC adapter, whatever, as long as it is appropriate.

THEN we are talking of exchange (relatively) high speed signals between different devices that are NOT physically GROUNDED together and are powered in DC, through an unshielded and ungrounded cable.

This means that DEPENDING on the actual circuit board (it's internal impedance and insulation) and on a number of other factors, like the length of the cables used, their type, the actual power source and what not, there may be interferences in the data exchange.

If this happens on your particular setup you need to properly GROUND everything together.

If this doesn't happen there is no need to ground them (though it's always a good idea grounding together all the pieces).

If one is not capable of using a soldering gun, he can peel off a short bit of insulation from the GROUND wire and use a hook:

http://www.testleads.net/Catalog/OldakerCatalog.htm

or a clip:

http://www.testleads.net/Catalog/OldakerCatalog.htm

or use "Quick Splice Adaptor":

http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d266.html

@Twittwilly

What should Carterincanada say more than this? :

http://www.mapleleafmountain.com/seagatebrick.html

(Note: Some guides on the web have suggested insulating the *other* set of contacts (the "head" contacts) you see in the lower left of the above photo to the right. I tried this originally and it didn't work for me but obviously others have had some success with it. In *my* case, with 1TB model drives, I can assure you that insulating the slightly easier to access motor contacts worked where the head contacts method didn't. I suspect the specific model of your drive will account for the varying levels of the results so if one way doesn't work for you, think about trying the other. You'll know to look here if the HyperTerminal session won't allow you to spin down the drive and continues to give you the BSY error in reply - "LED:01...blah blah blah". If you're allowed to spin down the drive, then this bit isn't your issue.)

jaclaz

[Twittwilly]

And now for something kind of completely different:

What to do with the contents of the Seagate once you get it back?

Like most folks, I sort of religiously back up data files on my computer, using the typical back-up software, to an external hard drive (in my case, a few Western Digital "My Book" external hard drives). But, when something happens to your drive and must replace it, you've got the data backed up to replace on the new drive, but you are left with the daunting task of re-installing Windows, all of your programs and the settings you were using with them, and everything else that wasn't included with those common types of back-up software.

Well, there is another option available to you that will completely copy EVERYTHING (and, yes, I DO MEAN EVERYTHING) on your hard drive, which provides an EXACT copy of the original drive. This copy can then be transferred to a newly installed blank hard drive, which provides you with a new completely bootable main hard drive; which, in turn, allows one to pick up exactly where one left off with the original...assuming, of course, that everything has been updated at the time the disc copy was made. It's called CLONING.

In cases such as the Seagate firmware problem (but certainly not limited to this particular situation), this process is really the most suitable way to go to transfer your programs and data from the restored Seagate to a new drive. So, once you have achieved a successful restoration of your stupid Seagate, I would recommend that you seriously consider this option to avoid going through the whole painful process of trying to find all of your program installation discs, the Windows installation process and all of stuff you downloaded from the web.

All of the programs you will need to accomplish this are ABSOLUTELY FREE. There is the back-up software program, a back-up software plug-in, a virtual Windows machine/hard drive program and an image burning software program. You might also want to download and install WINRAR to your computer, if you don't already have it installed. Winrar is a file compression program like ZIP.

A kind soul by the name of DATAMIKE00 has put together a series of tutorials on YouTube that take you through the set-up process. Each of the two tutorials is divided into multiple parts (one is a three-parter, the other is two part) and are very comprehensive and informative.

I suggest you watch the BART PE (3-part) series first here:

Then watch the VMware VMserver 2.0 tutorial (2 parts) here:

Now, I should point out that Datamike00 has quite a few drives on his machine that may cause some confusion with the viewer about where all of this stuff is being downloaded to. Just keep in mind where stuff on YOUR machine is being downloaded to so that you can follow along and retrieve the downloaded components as you need them to install.

I should also clarify that some of the initial steps Datamike00 takes on the VMware tutorial to create a virtual machine right off the bat are necessary to do as shown, although he doesn't explain the reasons why right away. It seems that copying your Windows installation disc from your DVD player within the program does not work that well. Therefore, an .ISO image of the operating system must be constructed to ensure accuray of the transfer to the virtual machine.

Once installed and activated, the virtual machine software takes you completely off your main hard drive and becomes a stand-alone "ghost" operating system. Though you can access everything on your main drive (copy from and write to), you just aren't actually working off of it.

You may have to watch these two series more than once (and probably take some notes) before it all sinks in. However, it isn't as daunting as it may initially appear to you.

With this method you can achieve successful results no matter what your drive configuration is. Whether you're working with a single drive, master-slave or RAID configurations you CAN do this. If you are working from a single drive in your computer, you will also need an external drive enclosure device.

In my situation, I am working with a single hard drive. I shall be using three various drives to accomplish what I want to do: The original Seagate, a second drive to make a new bootable main drive and a third drive to be used as a stored-away backup. The original Seagate will be tossed once its files are no longer needed.

PLEASE NOTE: Keep in mind that the new drive that the files will eventually wind up on MUST BE the same size as or larger than the Seagate from which you copied your files.

There are other programs available to accomplish this kind of thing. PC Magazine has provided a review of some of the most popular here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2308456,00.asp

Edited October 27, 2009 by Twittwilly

[jaclaz]

All of the programs you will need to accomplish this are ABSOLUTELY FREE. There is the back-up software program, a back-up software plug-in, a virtual Windows machine/hard drive program and an image burning software program. You might also want to download and install WINRAR to your computer, if you don't already have it installed. Winrar is a file compression program like ZIP.

Last time I checked WINRAR was COMMERCIAL.

7-zip, on the other hand is Open Source (donations accepted):

http://www.7-zip.org/

jaclaz

[Twittwilly]

All of the programs you will need to accomplish this are ABSOLUTELY FREE. There is the back-up software program, a back-up software plug-in, a virtual Windows machine/hard drive program and an image burning software program. You might also want to download and install WINRAR to your computer, if you don't already have it installed. Winrar is a file compression program like ZIP.

Last time I checked WINRAR was COMMERCIAL.

7-zip, on the other hand is Open Source (donations accepted):

http://www.7-zip.org/

jaclaz

Thank you jaclaz. I meant to point that out, but forgot to do so.

[jaclaz]

There are other programs available to accomplish this kind of thing. PC Magazine has provided a review of some of the most popular here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2308456,00.asp

Just to remain "in-house" :

Disk Imaging Software, What else is there?

http://www.msfn.org/board/disk-imaging-sof...99.html&hl=

jaclaz

Edited October 27, 2009 by jaclaz

[dibloff]

OK. After 45 days and 10 more topic pages (including the previous 96) I think I've read through everything. I'm still puzzled. I still don't know if my drive is reparable or not. I've recorded the sound it emits when the computer is booting, here: Youtube link for the SOUND There is a large peak in every 8.6 sec and a small one 3.2 sec later. And it's just keep repeating, and nothing happens. I've also dissected my nokia DKU cable that I’ve had for years. It has no marking on the PCB that would give a clue about TX or RX. Below is a picture of the PCB. I went through all the pictures that others uploaded to this forum, but I was not able to find the same cable. Please help. Thank you. A.

Hi Everybody. I saw this fix on youtube first, then I searched for this forum. Thanks for Gradius for putting together this comprehensive guide. I've got a Seagate Barracuda 7200 last December. It's a 1 TB model with the following properties: S/N: 9TE0STK3 / ST31000333AS / P/N: 9FZ136-336 / Firmware: SD35 / Date Code: 09191

From the date code I can see it's probably a bad one (Nov 11 2009 - so it's before January 12, 2009). I've got two other drives installed on an ABIT AN7 IDE port, and this Seagate on a SIL SATA 3112. First I thought it's the firmware but I can't swap the firmware since my sata controller will not recognize my drive. When I'm trying to boot windows it'll boot forever, and never finish it. I tried Seagate too, they told if it's clicking it's not covered by the firmware issue warranty...

I tried to figure out what is wrong and found a firmware update is available for this issue. I downloaded it and try to execute (I downloaded the firmware for my ST31000333AS S/N model). When I see the seagate notification after the computer boots up I chose the "Y" option, but it did not let me to choose a hard drive, or to proceed any further with the firmware flashing process, instead it tries to start windows, and freezes up again.

During all this time I can hear the head inside clicking in ~,every 5 seconds. I continues to spin up and down in the meantime.

I downloaded SEeaTools and burned a CD. Disconnected all my other drives and booted from CD. The seagate drive spins up, and keeps clicking. SeaTools for DOS tries to scan for a hard drive but it says: "No hard drive found ..." "Detected 0 Devices" . Before that it says: "Scanning for devices on SIL 3112" which tells me it is able to see my motherboard SATA controller.

Anyone has an idea of what could be the real problem with my HD and if this solution listed by Gradius will work on it?

Your all help is greatly appreciated.

A.

[MRA]

Twittwilly, to answer your questions from the 27th, I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB with the SD15 firmware.

I purchased a Coolmax 3.5" SATA I/II HDD Aluminum External Enclosure, HD-381 Series, from my local PC store based on their recommendation that it would not cover the RX & TX pins on the drive, but to slide it onto the SATA connection, there is no way to access those pins. But I DO have an ON/OFF switch now! Now I just need to try to locate a SATA interface/power extension cord so I can power the drive without it being inside of the super tight enclosure. Do they even make those? Or is there a different enclosure that someone could recommend that doesn't cover the RX/TX?

Thanks!

MRA

Edited October 30, 2009 by MRA

[Twittwilly]

Twittwilly, to answer your questions from the 27th, I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB with the SD15 firmware.

I purchased a Coolmax 3.5" SATA I/II HDD Aluminum External Enclosure, HD-381 Series, from my local PC store based on their recommendation that it would not cover the RX & TX pins on the drive, but to slide it onto the SATA connection, there is no way to access those pins. But I DO have an ON/OFF switch now! Now I just need to try to locate a SATA interface/power extension cord so I can power the drive without it being inside of the super tight enclosure. Do they even make those? Or is there a different enclosure that someone could recommend that doesn't cover the RX/TX?

Thanks!

MRA

I don't quite understand. How do you make connection to the power cord if you can't attach it with the mounting tray out of the enclosure? Just push the tray back in with the drive mounted on it and slightly add pressure until you feel the drive connect?

If this is correct, in that case you have to get a male to female SATA power cord....which they should have at the same store. Failing that, I would return the enclosure due to the fact you were misled by the individual who made the recommendation to you.

I have the Acomdata Samba Sata/Pata enclosure which has all drive connection wiring (with the simple pull-off removal of the top metal covering on the tray) and the power switch/AC adapater plug/usb connection on the slide-out tray itself. It allows easy access to the pins and does not require re-insertion to the enclosure cover.

Amazon has them on sale here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VNJD1S/ref=as...ASIN=B000VNJD1S

Edited October 30, 2009 by Twittwilly

[jaclaz]

Or is there a different enclosure that someone could recommend that doesn't cover the RX/TX?

Two point JFYI:

• you DO NOT want an enclosure
  
• you DO NOT want to add an extra layer of possible problems (the USB connection)
  

However, if you are going to use the USB interface, get a "free" one, examples:

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/New-USB-to-SATA-Con...=item3a53b43d76

http://cgi.ebay.com.my/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=260477902803

jaclaz